Greg Regan, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the problems with the claim by Airbus that their new planes can be flown with only one pilot. Regan also discussed a Project Labor Agreement for a high-speed rail project and a labor shortage for ferry workers in Washington.
Recently, Airbus made claims from Airbus that their new planes could be flown by only one pilot and eventually fly unmanned. The conversations just started in Europe, but Regan said they are years away from reaching U.S.-based airlines. However, to get ahead of the issue, the Association of Air Line Pilots (ALPA) has begun a safety campaign to educate the public and legislators on why two pilot crews on planes are crucial to safety. The Safety Starts with 2 campaign outlines the numerous safety and operational concerns of having only one pilot on a plane, and Regan explained what can be done to prevent this from becoming an accepted practice in the industry.
In other TTD action, rail industry continues to push for innovation, and new high-speed rail projects have recently begun working with labor to build the industry's future. One example is the High Desert Corridor, a proposed 54-mile railway that would connect Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County to San Bernardino County in California. Regan said the project recently signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). This PLA will guarantee that union labor will build, operate and maintain the high-speed rail segment.
Finally, Regan spoke about the work shortage and low wages that workers with Washington State Ferries deal with. Marine Engineers Beneficiary Association (MEBA) recently released an article in the Seattle Times outlining the workplace issues in the ferry system. Regan said the ferry system added new boats to meet customer demand, but they didn’t hire enough workers to safely operate the new fleet. He added that workers are not only suffering from a manpower shortage, but they are now one of the lowest-paid ferry jobs in the industry.
Listen to the show above to hear more from Regan.
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